Pete Carroll's Monday News and Notes

by:Matt Jones11/26/06
You know how sometimes people just strike you as cool? There are certain individuals, regardless of age, that just radiate cool to me.....guys who seem to enjoy life, are completely comfortable with themselves and likely live pretty fun lives. I always think of people like Ray Charles, Matthew McCounaghey and even Bears Coach Lovie Smith. But I also have to add to that list, USC Coach Pete Carroll. I mean think about it. Here is a guy who was basically a bust in the NFL....he dusts himself off and creates what is likely the coolest college football program around (with Snoop Dogg at the practices) and if he handles his business next week, he will be going into the fourth season in a row where he is playing for a national championship. Plus he does all this in LA, where he is the toast of the town.....not bad for a middle-aged guy. Also some big news this weekend. We began tracking traffic on this site on September 15th. This weekend we had our one millionth visit to the site since that date. Thanks to all who have made that happen. It has been a great holiday weekend here at the Kentucky Sports Radio Compound. Tonight we taped Episode 15 of the show and I must say, it is one of the best from an information standpoint that we have had. Patrick Patterson and Jay Bilas were our guests and both gave VERY insightful comments. You can hear from Patrick about why he waited until the Spring and what will ultimately make his decision for him. And Bilas breaks down UK after the time in Maui. You wont get a better show in terms of guests and it should be ready for your consumption around noon. Now there is news to get to and we must do it..... (1) Everyone has been waiting for my Marshall Moses news and I have had to continue putting it off as confirmation has been lacking. While I still cant give the big scoop, I can say that after speaking with Marshall, he made clear to me that his priority is to visit UK FIRST and to decide "what to do after that." I am hoping that UK gets this kid on campus VERY soon.....I would suggest if anyone is listening, December 9th, but Moses' quote to me suggests that Kentucky's spot is still very strong. UK gets the first visit.....gotta slam dunk this one. (2) I will be very interested to hear what people think about Patrick Patterson's comments on the show. I will give you one in advance however and that is that when talking about UK and why he is interested in the Cats, he mentions the "new players UK has coming." He mentions that he is friends with AJ Stewart and then says Jai Lucas' name, before adding "who is considering UK." Interesting context and he spoke almost as if he counted Jai as a UK player. Also very interesting comments from him as to what he is looking for this year.....says that he "already knows who is leaving from what school" and thus he wants to see how the teams play. After hearing the interview, I think UK fans might take some solace in his words and around noon you can hear for yourself. (3) We are going to be live this weekend at the Marshall County Hoopfest and you should be too. AJ Stewart's team plays at 10:30 in the main event, where all fans get to see the kid for the first time.....but also important is the fact that his team PLAYS Teeng Akol's team. Akol is moving up the charts and up the Kentucky staff's list as well and this game, in the Bluegrass state may go a long way to determining what chances he has of becoming a Cat. A big high school game for all to see.....plus we will be there and you can say hi! (4) Isaiah Martin out of Illinois is a kid whose name I keep hearing over and over from people around UK. MArtin is scheduled to be on our show in two weeks, where we can get more info, but I am hearing that UK is actively exploring the kid's games and that they have stepped up their involvement. Martin is a recruit I have only seen for a minute so I hope to learn much more about him soon. (5) Tough weekend for Jai Lucas as his high school team played two games in a tournament in Illinois and were beaten in both games.....one of which was against Florida signees Nick Calathes and Chandler Parsons. I spoke with a high school recruitnik who said that Jai is playing well but that his team "really looks awful aside from him." There is some buzz that Jai, even after deciding to wait, may make a decision sooner rather than later to get this off his mind. WE shall see. (6) And in the good news about this group, I spoke with a source close to the team today who told me that "these guys took the Memphis loss personally." Apparently the team was embarrassed by their effort and one of the players took the initiative to get virtually the entire team up early during the holiday weekend for pickup games with the players. AS Ravi Moss has said (whose report you should really read below if you havent), this team is "very close" and the guys are really on the same page. Lets hope that translates on the court. The show comes out at noon today.....Patrick Patterson and Jay Bilas....need we say more?

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